Street-sweeper



'n. M. TODD. STREET SWEEPER. APPLICATION.FILED FEB. 5,1919.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1- INVENTOH flaizzd M75627! D. M. TODD.

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, I9I9.

1 9 3%, 6G5 Patented Aug 3, 1 920.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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D. M. TODD.

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, 1919.

INVENTOR flazzz'el 7V, cZ

'ATTOIVEU 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

D. M. TODD.

STREET SWEEPER.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1919.

1 3&8, 605 Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' Illinois, haveinvented certain new and use ha rs DANIEL M. TODD, G3?

ste n; inrnvois, nssrsivoa fro stern-swarm swnnrne 00., A COTPARTNERSHIP oonsrsrrne or sen) DANIEL M. TODD, JAMES fironn, LAND.

CHARLES A. wnrrine, ALLorsLenv, rumors:

' strainer-sweeten. I

citizen of the United States, residing at Elgin, in the countyof Kane and State of ful Improvements in Street-Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention hasto do with certain'improvements in machines for sweeping andcleaning streets and the like. More particularly the inventionhas to do with a machine of'this type in which use is made of a rotary brush or sweeper whichis caused to rotate-in contact with the street surface as the machine travels along the street.

Machines of this type have, of course, been developed in the past, but so far as l' am aware they have always been subject more or less to the objection that the brush would not fully and completely remove dirt and other material from the curb,'so that'it has-always been necessary to clean up close to the curb as a special cleaning operation. This is largely because it is customary to set the rotary length of the machine, and, consequently, the bristles of the brush have not been able to get down close to the street surface at the curb in order to perform their cleaning function at this point. j

The main-object of the-present'invention is to provide a machine of this type in which the brush is so'constructed and operated that the bristles can and will at all times be'forced into thorough cleaning engagement with the surface of the street clear up to 'thecurb line, notwithstanding the fact'that the axis ofthe brush lies at an angle to the length of the machine instead of at; right angles thereto.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved type of suspension for the brush whereby it' is possible to regulate in more .or less accuratefashion thepressure which the brush exerts on the street surface, while at the same time flexibly supporting the brush so that it will easily ride over irregularities in the surface of the street.

brush or sweeper at an angle to the s ecification of was Patent. P te te A 3, 0, Ap piication filed Fame 5, 1919. serial No. 275,135. i I

i sweeper embodying the features of the present invention;

ig Q shows a side elevation of said ma ch1'ne;- V Flg. 3 shows a back view of the sweeper itself and the ad acent suspending- "mech- ZUUSIHS; 1 I 9 Fig. 4; shows a fragmentary detail view taken on the line l'l of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of' the arrows; Fig. 5 shows a detail cross section through thev driving hub-by means ofw'hic'h po'wer is transmitted to the ack sha'ftfor' transmiswith thelproper transmission ofthe power; Fig. 6 1S a section taken'on the line 6- 6 of rows;

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views showing a simple form of hlnged pin permitting the double oscillating movementof the sweeping brush;

rangement for effecting a spring suspension at this'point which ment' is capableof easy attach- Fig."10 shows a fragmentary view of the bracket usedin conjunction with the arrangement of Fig. 9

' sionv to the brush; the same permitting an 'osclllatlng' or swinging movement onthe part of the brush itself without interfering 5, looking inxthe direction of the ar--* 1 Fig. 11 shows a fragmentary plan view of i the sweeping brush with the'top portion of the cover cut away so as to show the manner in which the guard plate deflects the bristles "inwardly away from the curb until they reacha point lowenough rdownhto permit them to be released with assurance that they will strike in againstfthe lower edge 'ofthe Fig. 12

is 'a fragmentaryV View corresponding to Fig. 11, showing the manner in which the endbristles come into perfect engagement with the pavement at the curb line; and i I c Fig. 13 isan end perspectiveview corresponding to Figs. 11 and 12. I s

- The features of the presentinvention may be incorporated into many forms and arrangements of street sweeper, but for purposes of convenience in illustration, I have shown them as. being incorporated into a tating the sweeping brush. This, however,

is done only by way of illustration and is not to be understood as a limitation upon the usefulness or adaptability of the features of invention in connection with other styles or kinds of machine.

Bearing the foregoing in mind, the street sweeper illustrated in the figures includes a chassis 16 having a .pair of front wheels 17 and 18, and a single rear wheel .19. The. front wheels serve both for steering purposes and as drivers, and the rear wheel serves s mply as a supporting wheel for the rear end of the chassis. The driving engine 20 is located under a suitable hood 21. Theoperation of the engine and the steering functions are controlled from a drivers seat 22 adjacent to which is the steering wheel 23 and the proper control levers, etc., 24. i

The sweeping brush and its casing. are designated in their entirety by the numeral 25. They are conveniently located diagonally across the frame or chassis ofthe machine, and preferably under its rear portion. This brush maybe of any suitable length as compared to. the width of the machine, but ordinarilyits endportions 26 and 27 will project beyond the sides of the frame so as to insure a thorough cleaning of the pavement in both directions.

The brush itself is of any suitable construction but conveniently providedwith a central axle 28 onwhichare mounted the bristles 29. The axle is journaled in a rectangular frame 30 comprising suitable bars or plates practically encircling the entire length and width of the brush. Said frame lies in a substantially horizontal position, but'is so supported and journaled that it can swing up and down or sidewise in order to permit of the movements of the brush which are necessary or desirable in order'to insure a thorough cleaning of the pavement at all points. Thesuspension illustrated includes a pair of bars 31 and 32 pivoted to the frame ofthe chassis at the points 33 and 34; and pivoted to the frame of the sweeper brush at the point 35 and 36. The upper pivotal connections 33 and 34 are such as to permit the bars 31 and 32 to swing laterally or cro sswise of the machine, whereas the pivotal connections 35 and 36 are such as to permit the brush frame to swing longitudinally with respect to the. frame of the-machine, while at the same time permitting the front portionof the brush frame to rise and fall. Figs. 7 and 8 show in detail a simple type of. hinge for the points 35 and 36, the construction of which will be readily understoodin conjunction with an. examination of Fig. 4e. 'Each of these hinges 3e and 36 includes a pin37- which is journaled in a suit,-

n able bearing on the frame of the brush in conjunction with a pair of pins 38' and 39 which take into the bifurcations 40 m: the lower ends of the barsiSl and 32 respectively. Examination of Fig. twill show that the, bars 3land 32 are so constructed as to prevent any fore and aft swinging by reason of the length of the pivotal connection34-' A chain 4:1has its upper end e2connected T to the frame. of the machine, and its lower end 43 connected to the lower portion of the bar 32 so as to limit the swinging of the brush toward. the right in Fig. 3. Aspring 44 has its upper end connected to'a chain connected to the frame of the machine and. its lower end 46 connected to a yoke 47,, which yoke, in turn, has. its lower end rigidly connected to the brush frame. This spring .14 tends to draw thebrush frame toward the right in Fig. 3..until limited by I the chain 41, and the construction is such as i i to permit the brush to swing toward the leftagainst the t'ensien'of the spring. 5 The front end" of the brushframetends to fall so that the weight of the brush frame and brush will be carried by the brush itself resting upon thepavement. However, the spring 481s shown in Fig. 9 whose function,

when used, is to I carry a portion of the weight of the frame so as to corresponchngly relieve the pressure exerted upon the pavement. Theupper end of this spring'is connected to a chain 49 any desired link of which will be hooked over a bifurcated bracket :50 on the chassis of the machine, and by hooking into the proper. link, the

tension on the spring 48 can be adjusted to the 'pointdesired. j

"Thebrush is ordlnarily driven by a portlongof the power from the englnem a direction contrary to the natural direction .of it rotation as would be dictated by the travel of; the machine. -For example, in Fig. 2,'

with. the machine traveling toward the left, the brush is driven so as totravel 1n-a -d1recticn of, the arrows on said figure. This driving of the brush maybe effected in any convenient manner from theengineof the machine, but a simple arrangement is that which I will now describe." This includes-a jack shafttl journaled in thechassisnfthe I mach ne. at a point above the rear end of the brush frame, said ack shaft being driven by the propeller ,fshaft through the medium of beveled gears 53 and iutcsuite able clutch or control maybe usedin con} unction with the propeller shaft -Al1- other jack shaft 55 is journaled on the rear portion ofthe brush frame being provided at one'end with a sprocket 5 6 and at the other end w1th a sprocket 57. A chain 58 extends from the sprocket 57 to a sprocket 59 on the end ofthe brush shaft 23.,he yoke 4L7 which was previously .mentionedgas be ng rig dly connected to the brushv frame to drive the jack shaft 55.

carries at its upper end a housingor the like '60 within which is journaled a sleeve 61 by the use of ball bearings 62 "a11d 63. A

sprocket Get on the protruding end of the sleeve 61 drives thechain"65. which passes down and over the'sp'roclret 56 andserves A feathered shaft (55 works in a driving manner in conjunction with the sleeve (51., said shaft 65 being driven from the jack shaft 51 through i the medium of universal joints '66. This arrangement is such that the jaclrsliaft 55 will at all times be in driving communication with. the acl shafttl' through the medium of the chain'65, notwithstanding the swinging ofthe' roller brush frame back and forth in the natural operation of the machine.

In order that the operation of the machine may be better understood and appreciated, reference may now be had toFigs. l1 and 12, in which the brush is shown in the relationship which it ordinarily bears to the curb. In these figures the surface of the pavement is designated by the numeral 67 and the curb they tend prises a guard or by the numeral 68. Since the brush turns over in av direction contrary to its natural directionof rotation as dictated by the travel of the machine along the street, and since the brush lies at a considerable angle to the direction of the curb line, it follows that as the end bristles come around them first to strike against the top of the curb and would naturally do so in the natural and ordinary operation of the ma-.

chine. Thereafter as soon as the roller had turned through a sufficient angle,'the bristles would snap away from the top of the curb. By the time they reach the pavement, they would come into contact with the pavement at a point some distance removed from the lower edge of the curb, thereby leaving a considerable gap or space at the point where the curb and pavement has come together uncle-aired and filled with dirt and refuse.

In order to overcome the foregoing natural tendency and in order to insure a thorough and complete contact of the bristles with the surfaces of the pavement clear up tothe curb line, I have illustrated the expedient which I will now describe. The same combaflie plate 69 firmly supported adjacent to and in contact with the upper end portion of the sweeping roller, said bafl'le plate or guard 69 lying substantially parallel therefore, substantially parallel to the direotionof the curb itself. The lower edge 70 of this baffle plate extends down lowenough to insure that the bristles will be carried to a point below the upper edge 71 of the curb before they are released from the influence of the baffle plate, so that when so released they will snap out to their full natural extension and thus insure full contact with the surfaces of the pavement up to the curb in the m'anner which will'be readily understood from an examination of Figs. 3,11, 12, and 13. "Ordinarily this bafl'leplate willextend upwardly substantially the full height of the sweeping roller, so that the "bristles will come into contact with it in an easy manner asthey pass over the uppermost point ,of'

their travel. Thereafter as theymove downwardly in the rotation of the roller, they will be forced inwardly and not allowedto elevation. I claim:

, 13111 a street sweeper, the combination with wheeled carriage, of means for driv ingthe same along the pavement, sweeping brush, a frame wherein said brush is ournaled, means for suspendlng such frame from the carriage to permlt oscillation of the frame lengthwise of the roller, a spring tending to move the frame sidewise to carry the sweeping roller toward the curb, means,

for limiting such movement, and means for driving the roller for sweeping purposes in d any lateral position of the frame with respect to the carriage, substantially as described.

2. In a street sweeper, the combination with a wheeled carriage, of a frame extending across said carriage, a sweeping brush joursnap out until'they reach the desired lownaled in said frame, means for suspending J the frame from the carnage while perm1tting the frame to swing sidewise with respect to the carriage, flexible means-tending I to move said frame to carry the'brush toward the curb, and means forlimiting such movement, an d means for drlvingthe brush for sweeping purposes when the frame standsin any position of sidewise swing, substantially as described.

3. In a street .sweeper, the combination with a wheeled carriage, of a sweeping brush extending across the carriage, suitable journals for said brush in which it rotates, means for supporting said journals from the carriage to permit the journals to move side- 'wise with respect to thecarriage, flexible means tending to carry the journals sidewise to thereby move the end of the brush toward the curb, means for limiting such movement, and means for driving the brush from the carriage in any lateral position of the brush with respect to the carriage, substantially as described. to the length of the machine and, 7

a driving connection between said jack shaft and the brush, a rotatable element j ournaled the brush axis While preventing the brush in, the upper portion of said bracket, a driving connectionbetween tae ack shaft and said element, another shaft in alinenient with the rotatable element in the upperend oi the bracket, a splined connection between said alined shaft and rotatable element and suitable supports for the brush'f rame permitting said frame to swing axially with respect to the brush axis and permitting said frame to swing about a horizontal axis parallel to tially rectangular brush'frame lying in a sub- 1 stantially horizontal positlon a brush journaled in the same, an upstanding bracket secured to the brush frameyarotatable element journaled in the upper end'of said bracket, a shaft al-ined With said rotatable element; a splined connection between said shaft and rotatable element, driving connections be tween the first mentioned shaft and the brush and suitable mountings T for the brush frame permitting said frame to swing sidewlse with respect to the earriage, Wh le preventing thebr'ush frame from moving for-i carriaga substantially,asdescribed. a a DANIELBLTODDQ "Wardlyand backwardly with respect to the 30 

